


to kill a god

by nutellamuffin



Series: as told by the flower [1]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Death, Grief/Mourning, POV Hyacinthus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), POV Second Person, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29112471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nutellamuffin/pseuds/nutellamuffin
Summary: how do you kill a god? oh, when he dies for you.
Relationships: Apollo/Hyacinthus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Minor Achilles/Patroclus of Opus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Series: as told by the flower [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143803
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	to kill a god

how do you kill a god?

oh, when he dies for you,

and you are the one

in elysium.

how do you kill a god?

he kisses bloodstained petals from your fingertips

and curses the wind.

he will kill him for this, he says,

raw, hoarse,

and you know he will not.

how do you kill a god?

he should not be here,

glowing, shining, pure.

the dirt smells like death,

hissing, pulling, rotting.

he should not be here,

and yet.

how do you kill a god?

he is kneeling at your feet

surrounded by purple flowers

that bear their teeth.

he is begging.

you do not hear him,

and it seems as though he has died

a second time.

how do you kill a god?

he has an infinity and one reasons

why he should have you back.

hades is unblinking,

unwilling, unable.

he tears at his golden curls,

digs his hands into the black soil,

and he is the most heartbreaking contrast.

how do you kill a god?

you are granted a mirror

to everything you cannot have.

he is clutching at bedsheets,

sun-bleached and empty.

you wonder if he can see you.

persephone shakes her head.

how do you kill a god?

it has been an eternity

and yet, he stands.

he stands in front of

the bringer of death

and asks for your life.

she shakes her head,

runs her fingers through his hair,

and for a moment, fleeting,

you see conviction in her eyes

when she looks back at you.

how do you kill a god?

the mirror has not shattered

for so long as you wish to see.

and you see everything

you were convinced you never would;

you see an arrow,

you see him take aim,

you see mourning.

how do you kill a god?

you see aphrodite

and she asks him why.

he looks out upon the field,

out upon the ashes

mixed with one another.

and he says,

_ i know what it is like _

_ to be left here _

_ while another has gone. _

how do you kill a god?

you are looking out

past your fields of purple,

watching two souls rejoice.

one of them looks much like you,

with his head of brown

and his olive skin.

and the other looks much like him,

with golden curls,

and a smile of sunshine.

they are together, laughing, loving,

and you are reminded

that you are alone.

how do you kill a god?

for a moment you could swear

that he is looking back at you.

it is not a two-way mirror

and yet.

you see an eternity in his eyes,

and you are reminded

that gods feel every day

of a millenia.

you have killed a god.

how does it feel

to have ichor on your lips?


End file.
